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Acclaimed Italian auteur Nanni Moretti finds comedy and pathos in the story of Margherita, a harried film director (Margherita Buy, A Five Star Life) trying to juggle the demands of her latest movie and a personal life in crisis. The star of her film, a charming but hammy American actor (John Turturro) imported for the production, initially presents nothing but headaches and her crew is close to mutiny. Away from the shoot, Margherita tries to hold her life together as her beloved mother’s illness progresses, and her teenage daughter grows ever more distant.

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Thanks to Criterion, we have a brand-new remastered copy of the 1973 Czech animation Sci-Fi classic, Fantastic Planet. From Criterion,

Nothing else has ever looked or felt like director René Laloux’s animated marvel Fantastic Planet, a politically minded and visually inventive work of science fiction. The film is set on a distant planet called Ygam, where enslaved humans (Oms) are the playthings of giant blue native inhabitants (Draags). After Terr, kept as a pet since infancy, escapes from his gigantic child captor, he is swept up by a band of radical fellow Oms who are resisting the Draags’ oppression and violence. With its eerie, coolly surreal cutout animation by Roland Topor; brilliant psychedelic jazz score by Alain Goraguer; and wondrous creatures and landscapes, this Cannes-awarded 1973 counterculture classic is a perennially compelling statement against conformity and violence.

A spellbinding mystery of identity, illusion, and deception unfolds against the turmoil of post-World War II Germany in the stunning new film from acclaimed director Christian Petzold (Barbara, Jerichow). Nelly (Nina Hoss), a German-Jewish nightclub singer, has survived a concentration camp, but with her face disfigured by a bullet wound. After undergoing reconstructive surgery, Nelly emerges with a new face, one similar but different enough that her former husband, Johnny (Ronald Zehrfeld), doesn’t recognize her. Rather than reveal herself, Nelly walks into a dangerous game of duplicity and disguise as she tries to figure out if the man she loves may have been the one who betrayed her to the Nazis. Evoking the shadows and haunted mood of post-war Berlin, Phoenix weaves a complex tale of a nation’s tragedy and a woman’s search for answers as it builds towards an unforgettable, heart-stopping climax.

Alfonso Cuarón directed and co-wrote this sexy art-house hit from Mexico. The funny and moving coming-of-age story centers on two immature teens who get an education in love when they take a sexy road trip with a liberated, unhappily married woman

DVDs continue to be our #2 most circulated item and television series help keep that number very healthy. Here is a sampling of some recent television on DVD including releases from the U.S., Britain, and Ireland,

Archer, Season 6
Doctor Blake Mysteries, Season 1
Doctor Who. Series 9
Fargo, Season 2
Grace and Frankie, Season 1
Hannibal, Season 3
Last Kingdom, Season 1
Leftovers, Season 2
Luther, Season 4
Manhattan, Season 2
Mr. Robot, Season 1
Peaky Blinders, Season 2
Place to Call Home, Season 3
Silk, Season 2
The Americans, Season 3
The Fall, Season 2
TURN, Season 2
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Season 1
VEEP, Season 4

If you see a series you’d like, you can always call us and have it held for you:
Main Library Reference Desk: 203-256-3160
Fairfield Woods Reference Desk: 203-255-7308

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Many filmmakers have attempted to create a film using only one cut. Hitchcock managed only ten edits in Rope. Alexander Sokurov mastered one 96 minute take in his 2002 Russian Ark. Alejandro Iñárritu created the illusion of one take in Birdman. And now we are treated with Sebastian Schipper’s German film, Victoria who ups the ante in his 2 hour and 20 minute epic film all shot in one take. From the film’s website,

A movie shot in a single take about Victoria, a runaway party girl, who’s asked by three friendly men to join them as they hit the town. Their wild night of partying turns into a bank robbery.

Now that the awards have been handed out, the big question remains, when do those films get released? Here’s a quick list of all the nominated films and their release dates. ? simply means a date has not been announced yet.

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The comedy Hindi film, Dil Dhadakne Dofocuses “on a cruise to celebrate their parents’ 30th wedding anniversary, a brother and sister deal with the impact of family considerations on their romantic lives” (IMDb).

Sandra (Cotillard) has just been released from the hospital to find that she no longer has a job. According to management, the only way Sandra can hope to regain her position at the factory is to convince her co-workers to sacrifice their much-needed yearly bonuses. Now, over the course of one weekend, Sandra must confront each co-worker individually in order to win a majority of their votes before time runs out. With TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT, the Dardennes have turned a relevant social inquiry into a powerful statement on community solidarity, once again delivering a film that is simple on the surface but alive with both compassion and wisdom.